


Waiting Out the Rain

by wickedorin



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Android, Conversation, Gen, OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedorin/pseuds/wickedorin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written as a fill for a drabble request on AwaitingMassProduction: "Something with Yuri."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting Out the Rain

Of all the ridiculously stupid things, of all of the horrible ways to start the day… The courthouse was more or less four blocks away. What Yuri actually liked to do sometimes was park his car away from the courthouse lot (as far away from the parking spot with his name on it as he could get; possibly out of paranoia, he had to admit) and walk. On nice days and reasonably decent days, overcast like it was that morning… but he hadn’t expected the sky to just open up into torrential downpours, forcing him and several others to seek shelter.

At least he’d managed to pull open the door to a coffee shop. A rather… trendy coffee shop, unfortunately. Standing there in his soaking wet suit, eyes meeting with a bored barista half his age and instantly judging him, thundering rain outside only getting heavier, he did at least see a smattering of decent-looking teas on the menu board.

Only, it wasn’t a tea morning. It was a coffee morning. Which became far, far worse when he realized that he’d left his wallet in his car. He very nearly reached up to touch his face before he stopped himself, drawing in a few deep, slow breaths before realizing that someone very familiar was addressing him.

"Ah, Judge Petrov. I see that you were also ‘caught in the storm’, as it were."

Turning, Yuri recognized the android instantly. Well, at least someone was even more horribly soaked than he was. “Mr. Kaburagi. You aren’t going to short out anytime soon, are you?”

Kurou tilted his head slightly, unable to tell whether or not that had been humor. Likely not, from the hard look in the judge’s eyes. “I can assure you that I am fully sealed and waterproof. This is unsafe weather to be driving in, however. I am hopeful that the downpour will clear soon so that I am not overly late to work.”

Yuri blinked, unable to hide his surprise. It wasn’t often that he encountered anyone outside of courthouse staff that held similar work hours to his own. “I wasn’t aware that your employer was so demanding.” It was barely a second later when he felt the need to add, “But perhaps I’ve had some indication.”

"Indeed." The android responded in as democratic a manner as possible. "To be honest, I have generally selected my own work hours. My apologies; were you going to approach the counter?"

The judge barely held in a sigh that felt bone-deep. “I’m afraid I’ve left my wallet in my car. And it’s a bit of a walk.”

There wasn’t the least bit of hesitation before Kurou’s honest question, “May I purchase something for you, Judge Petrov?”

"I really don’t—” He paused, forced himself to stop and take a breath. “Thank you, Mr. Kaburagi. I wouldn’t want you to feel obligated.”

"I do not. I would be glad to pay for whatever your daily routine requires. Though only upon the understanding that I do not expect any favors or favoritism in return."

He was suddenly extremely tempted to laugh. It showed on his face, if only through a minor quirk of lips. Going straight from being pissed off at the world to being downright amused at such a blatantly obvious statement must have been draining his energy outright. “I understand, Mr. Kaburagi. I will save you from an overly large bill by requesting a small, black, plain as can be coffee of whatever medium blend they have here.”

"No additional food items?" The android made certain to ask.

Truly, he was exactly like Wild Tiger in some ways… and then a million worlds apart in others. “No, thank you. I’ve had a bit of breakfast before I left the house.”

"Understood." With a nod and no thought at all to the fact that he was still dripping a bit as he walked, he approached the counter. "Good morning. I will purchase one small, black, plain medium roast coffee, and one small hot chocolate please."

Yuri distinctly felt one of his eyebrows raise at that order, taking note of the barista also seeming to give the android a judgmental glance; though Kurou managed not only to not notice, but seemingly somehow deflect it. Particularly with his sincere “Thank you” and that follow-up of “I hope that you have a good day” before dropping all of his change in the tip box. Knowing that he was still dripping a bit himself, he attempted to shake at least some of the moisture off of his sleeves… immediately knowing that wasn’t doing much good beyond getting the pastry case wet. To hell with it; the floors were stone and the seats were metal. Selecting a nice, empty, out of the way table at which to sit, he waited until the android approached him before indicating the other chair. “You… may as well sit with me while we wait for the downpour to pass.”

"If you would not mind." Kurou responded, handing Yuri his coffee before sitting.

Not the worst company to have in a continuing downpour, he supposed. “Please. I’m a little surprised that you got something for yourself, admittedly.”

"As am I, to be honest."

There was another quick quirk of his lips at that. “You surprised yourself?”

"Somewhat. I had not quite anticipated a sudden desire to try the hot chocolate. It was— Impulsive." Kurou explained.

Not the worst company, indeed. “Well? How do you find it?”

The android took a sip of the beverage, taking well over two full seconds to fully taste, process. “It is— Sweet. Rich. Distinctively chocolate. It is good, I believe.”

Yuri stopped himself from snorting. “I’m glad it seemed to be the correct choice, then.”

"And yours, Judge Petrov?"

Yes. Well. He wasn’t much for coffee, for the most part, but on a morning like the one he was waiting to be through with… Gently sipping at the edge of the cup, the liquid was just short of too hot. There was that distinctly pungent, bitter flavor, however; unmissable. “I must admit that I prefer the scent of coffee to the taste. This is decent, at least.”

"Then I am also glad." The android responded.

It hadn’t really stricken him until that moment how… human the android really was. Could be. And yet how very not. Kurou gazed out the window, watching the rain, so very much like anyone else… and yet he wasn’t avoiding conversation. He didn’t seem to feel awkwardness, wasn’t nervously forcing conversation or even awkwardly watching his forced companion. Just… processing, he supposed. Looking up sports scores, for all he knew. It wasn’t really like him to start a conversation, but he supposed they did share a bit of random curiosity. “Are you still interested in philosophy?”

Those unnaturally red eyes shifted, gazes locking for a moment. “Yes. It would seem to be a continuing study. There are— So very many ways in which humans interpret the world around them. Themselves. Events which do occur, and events which may or may not. The subject remains fascinating to me.”

There was an undeniable intelligence in those eyes; something… alive. It was still quite a concept to try and grasp. “Understandable. Humans don’t know themselves any better than you know them.”

"I am not entirely certain that I agree. With respect."

That time he did let a little sound of amusement go. “We’re not in court, Mr. Kaburagi. Luckily I haven’t seen you there yet.”

"I should hope that we will never have the questionable ‘pleasure’." He demonstrated at least a better grasp of humor then than he’d had when they’d first spoken.

"That isn’t really the sort of android ‘first’ you’d be after, I suppose." Yuri commented, taking another sip of his coffee. "You disagree, though. Why?"

"Humans have the benefit of having always been human. Having been socialized human, with instinct and evolutionary senses to match. I am, in one sense, at a disadvantage."

"Oh? Does that mean you also have an advantage?" The judge was starting to find himself just a bit more interested than he’d thought.

"I believe that I might. I am able to— Observe." Kurou paused for a bit of processing, taking advantage of the moment to take another sip of hot chocolate. "I was not able to simply ‘take for granted’ some thoughts and behaviors, to assume something of everyone."

"So you initially thought, for instance… that every individual did everything in completely unique and individual ways, not sharing anything?" He attempted to grasp the span of the concept, of Kurou’s internal world.

"That had been one possibility. One of many; attempting to determine even that much was somewhat overwhelming for some time." The android admitted. "Though I did have the benefit of some human thoughts. Experiences. While incomplete, it did furnish me with some ability to understand, define. It was— A place to start, as it were."

It was honestly fascinating, a vast resource of potential questions to ask at his fingertips… and yet, his mind drifted to one in particular. “And your sense of right and wrong? Morals? Was that ultimately all from your… your ‘origin’?”

"Initially." Kurou confirmed. "Though I am still— Exploring. What I believe, about many things. There would seem to be few absolutes."

"Then there are absolutes?” Yuri couldn’t help but press.

"There— May be, indeed." He wasn’t prepared to make an absolute statement, in any case. "Ah. The rain would appear to be clearing."

Blinking, he’d almost forgotten the reason they were speaking in the first place. Looking out the window, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Not ideal, but certainly passable. “So it has. I suppose we should be going.”

Nodding, Kurou stood. “Would you like a ride to the court house?”

And still the android managed to surprise him. “Thank you, but I think I’d like to continue my walk. I’ll change when I get there.” He assured, standing as well.

"You have a change of clothes at your office?"

"Well, you never know." Yuri covered decently enough as they walked. "You don’t, I suppose?"

"I do not have an office." Kurou automatically opened the door for the judge, noting the minute pause before the man continued. "Nor a change of clothing. However, with the computers and equipment running within the lab, it will not take overly long to dry my clothing completely."

"Noted." Looking up at the sky, he supposed there was no guarantee that another downpour wouldn’t just force him inside another storefront. He made a note to remember to park in the lot on cloudy days. Or perhaps… not. "Thank you for the coffee, Mr. Kaburagi."

"Thank you for the conversation, Judge Petrov." The android was still the epitome of polite, even giving a very slight, very Japanese bow before nodding, turning toward his motorcycle.


End file.
